Anthem PC review: a strong beat, repeated, endlessly, without variety

Anthem makes a hell of a first impression. It then smothers its strong start with a burdensome campaign, before showing a final glimmer of potential in its endgame. It’s quite the rollercoaster. There are bright spots, no doubt. The scenery doesn’t vary much, but it doesn’t need to when it looks this damn good. Waterfalls tumble from alabaster cliffs, between emerald treetops, into bioluminescent swamps. The thrill of swooping off a cliff, skimming low over a river to cool your jets and kicking up spray as you go, never wholly erodes - and it’s refreshed each time you unlock another of Anthem’s flying exosuits, or javelins, and feel your way around its unique quirks. The same is true of combat. Some enemies are spongier than I’d like, but that’s so you’re nudged into learning a key mechanic: an evolved version of Mass Effect’s combo system. Certain ability attacks can ‘prime’ an enemy for a combo, while others will ‘detonate’ enemies who have been primed, dealing bonus damage. You won’t see much deliberate coordination of this in the campaign unless you group up, but nor will you need it. It’s only in the endgame that the character builds and teamwork to land combos become essential.

from PCGamesN https://ift.tt/2GYKsK7